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May 17, 2004
NASA Plans to Put an Aura Around the
Earth
On June 19, NASA will launch Aura, a next
generation Earth-observing satellite. Aura will
supply the best information yet about the health
of Earth’s atmosphere.
Aura will help scientists understand how
atmospheric composition affects and responds to
Earth’s changing climate. The satellite
will help reveal the processes that connect local
and global air quality. It will also track the
extent Earth’s protective ozone layer is
recovering.
Aura will carry four instruments each designed
to survey different aspects of Earth’s
atmosphere. The instruments will provide an
unprecedented and complete picture of the
composition of the atmosphere. Aura will survey
the atmosphere from the troposphere, where
mankind lives, through the stratosphere, where
the ozone layer resides and protects life on
Earth.
Aura’s space-based view of the
atmosphere and its chemistry will complete the
first series of NASA’s Earth Observing
System satellites. The other satellites are,
Terra, which monitors land, and Aqua, which
observes Earth’s water cycle.
“Gaining this global view of Earth will
certainly reap new scientific discoveries that
will serve as essential stepping stones to our
further exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond,
the basis of the Vision for Space
Exploration,” NASA Administrator Sean
O’Keefe said.
Aura will help answer key scientific
questions, including whether the ozone layer is
recovering. Aura data may prove useful determing
the effectiveness of international agreements,
which banned ozone-depleting chemicals like
chlorofluorocarbons. (CFCs).
Aura will accurately detect global levels of
CFCs, and their byproducts, chlorine and bromine,
which destroy ozone. Aura will also track the
sources and processes controlling global and
regional air quality. It will help distinguish
between natural and human-caused sources of these
gases. When ozone exists in the troposphere, it
acts as an air pollutant. Tropospheric ozone is
linked to high levels of precursors such as
nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile
hydrocarbons. Aura will help scientists follow
the sources of tropospheric ozone and its
precursors.
“Aura, the first comprehensive
laboratory in space to help us better understand
the chemistry and composition of the
Earth’s atmosphere, is fundamentally a
mission to understand and protect the very air we
breathe, “ said NASA Associate
Administrator for Earth Science Dr. Ghassem
Asrar. “It is also a perfect complement to
our other Earth Observing System satellites that,
together, will aid our nation and our neighbors
by determining the extent, causes, and regional
consequences of global change,” he
said.
As the composition of Earth’s atmosphere
changes, so does its ability to absorb, reflect
and retain solar energy. Greenhouse gases,
including water vapor, trap heat in the
atmosphere. Airborne aerosols from human and
natural sources absorb or reflect solar energy
based on color, shape, size, and substance. The
impact of aerosols, tropospheric ozone and upper
tropospheric water vapor on Earth’s climate
remains largely unquantified. Aura’s
ability to monitor these agents will help unravel
some of their mystery.
Aura’s four instruments, the High
Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS); the
Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS); the Ozone
Monitoring Instrument (OMI); and the Tropospheric
Emission Spectrometer (TES) will work together to
provide measurements in the troposphere and
stratosphere to help answer important climate
questions.
HIRDLS was built by the United Kingdom and the
United States. OMI was built by the Netherlands
and Finland in collaboration with NASA.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., constructed TES and MLS. NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.,
manages the Aura mission.
NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise is
dedicated to understanding the Earth as an
integrated system and applying Earth System
Science to improve prediction of climate,
weather, and natural hazards using the unique
vantage point of space.
For Aura information and images on the
Internet, visit:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0517aura.html
http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/
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Contacts:
Gretchen Cook-Anderson
Headquarters, Washington
Phone: 202/358-0836
Lynn Chandler/Krishna Ramanujan at AGU
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Phone: 301/286-2806
AGU Press Room: 514/871-5822
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Aura satellite - artist’s
concept.
High-Resolution
Image
Canadian Smoke
Smoke from multiple large wildfires in Canada
blanketed the Great Lakes and eastern United
States. The enormous smoke plume was almost 200
miles wide. The thick pall affected air quality
from New York, to Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.
and blocked the sunlight cooling the East Coast.
The left image was taken by the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on
the Terra satellite on July 7, 2002. The right
image comes from NASA’s Total Ozone Mapping
Spectrometer (TOMS) on the Earth Probe satellite.
Highest aerosol concentration is in red.
High-Resolution
Image
High-Resolution
Image
Ozone Hole
The Antarctic ozone hole of 2003 was the second
largest ever observed. The dark blue indicates
the region of maximum ozone depletion.
High-Resolution
Image
Ozone Hole Growth
TOMS images show the growth of the ozone hole
over 20 years.
High-Resolution
Image
Aerosol’s Effect on
Climate
Aerosols affect climate both directly by
reflecting and absorbing sunlight and indirectly
by modifying clouds. The TOMS aerosol index is an
indicator of smoke and dust absorption. The image
shows aerosols crossing the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. Dust from the Sahara desert is carried
westward toward the Americas. Asian dust and
pollution travel to the Pacific Northwest.
High-Resolution
Image
Aura Satellite
This is a photograph of the Aura satellite in
the clean room prior to launch. Credit: Northrop
Grumman
High-Resolution
Image
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